Water’s finding its way in again, isn’t it?
Started as a small stain on the ceiling in unit 304. Then the balcony doors in 507 wouldn’t close properly. Now half the building’s dealing with mould issues, and the strata committee’s facing a repair bill that makes everyone’s eyes water.
Here’s the thing nobody tells property managers when they take the job: caulking failures bankrupt buildings. Not all at once. Slowly. One leak at a time. One water-damaged wall cavity at a time. One lawsuit from a unit owner dealing with black mould at a time.
Walk through any high-rise over ten years old. Look at the window frames, balcony edges, expansion joints. That cracked, peeling, or missing caulk isn’t just ugly – it’s an active invitation for water to destroy the building from the inside out.
The worst part? Most of these failures were completely avoidable. Someone just didn’t know what to look for, or cut corners to save a few thousand dollars upfront. Now the building’s looking at emergency repairs that cost ten times more.
Why Strata Buildings Eat Through Caulking
High-rise buildings move. Every single day. Wind pushes them, temperature changes make them expand and contract, the building settles on its foundation. That’s normal.
What’s not normal is expecting cheap caulk to handle all that movement for decades.
Most residential homes use basic acrylic or latex caulk. Works fine when the building barely moves. In a thirty-story tower experiencing constant thermal cycling and wind loads? That caulk’s dead within three years.
Commercial-grade polyurethane and silicone caulking handle movement. It stretches, compresses, and bounces back without tearing. The cheap stuff just cracks and falls out.
The Big Five Caulking Failures
Failure #1: Weather Exposure Breakdown
UV rays destroy caulk faster than anything. South and west walls get hit by sun all day. That white caulk from five years ago? Yellow, cracked, crumbling now.
Cheap caulk breaks down in 3 to 5 years under constant sun. Quality silicone lasts 15 to 20 years in the same spot. Guess which one most builders use?
Failure #2: Improper Surface Preparation
Slapping new caulk over old caulk is contractor laziness at its finest. Doesn’t matter how good the new caulk is – it’s only bonding to the old failing caulk underneath.
Proper preparation means removing every bit of old caulk, cleaning the substrate, drying it completely, then applying new material. Takes longer. Costs more. Actually works.
Failure #3: Wrong Product for the Job
Building supply stores carry twenty different types of caulk. Most strata committees pick based on price. Big mistake.
Window perimeters need a different caulk than expansion joints. Balcony edges need a different product than bathroom tiles. Using bathroom caulk on exterior joints guarantees failure within two years.
Failure #4: Poor Installation Technique
Caulking looks easy. It’s not. The bead needs proper depth, correct width, and perfect tooling. Too thin and it tears. Too thick and it never cures properly. Poorly tooled and it doesn’t bond right.
Temperature matters too. Installing caulk when it’s too cold or too hot? The curing process gets messed up, and the bond never forms correctly.
Failure #5: Ignoring Building Movement
Expansion joints exist for a reason. Buildings need to move. When caulk gets installed in joints that move more than the caulk can handle, something’s got to give.
That something is always the caulk. It tears, separates from the substrate, or just rips apart completely. Now there’s a gap where water rushes in.
What Water Damage Actually Costs
Small leak in the caulking around a window? Seems manageable, right?
That water runs down inside the wall cavity. Sits there. Grows mould. Rots the framing. Damages the insulation. Ruins the drywall. Spreads to adjacent units.
One failed caulk joint can cause $50,000 in repairs. Multiple failed joints across a building? The numbers get scary fast.
Insurance companies love denying claims for water damage from “lack of maintenance.” Failed caulking counts as a lack of maintenance. The strata corporation eats the cost.
Red Flags Property Managers Miss
| Warning Sign | What It Means | Timeline to Failure |
|---|---|---|
| Caulk turning yellow/brown | UV breakdown started | 1-2 years left |
| Visible cracks in caulk | Movement exceeded capacity | Already failing |
| Gaps between caulk and substrate | Bond failure | Water getting in now |
| Caulk feels hard and brittle | Complete degradation | Replace immediately |
| Black spots on nearby surfaces | Mould from water ingress | Damage already happening |
| Peeling or curling edges | Installation failure | Never properly bonded |
The Inspection Nobody Does
Most strata buildings get caulking inspected never. That’s not a typo. Never.
The building gets handed over from the developer. Committee assumes everything’s fine. Five years pass. Seven years. Ten years. Then water starts showing up inside units.
By then, hundreds of joints have failed. What could have been a $15,000 preventive maintenance job becomes a $150,000 emergency repair.
Smart strata committees inspect caulking every two years. Boring? Yes. Cheaper than emergency repairs and lawsuits? Absolutely.
Prevention Beats Panic
High-rise buildings need a caulking maintenance plan. Not complicated. Just scheduled inspections and planned replacements before failures happen.
- Years 1–5: Annual visual inspections for discolouration, minor cracks, small gaps.
- Years 6–10: Partial re-caulking of high-exposure areas (balconies, west-facing walls).
- Years 10–15: Full re-caulking cycle for all joints and window perimeters.